Back pack boat



July 8, 1969 J, E. PURNEY, SR 3,453,669

BACK PACK BOAT Filed Nov. 17, 1966 Sheet of :5

Fig]

John E. Pumey. 5r.

INVENTOR.

July 8, 1969 J, E. PURNEY, SR

BACK PACK BOAT Sheet 0? Ora Filed Nov. 17, 1966 Fig.4

I, 2 4 wa 9 6 0 8 HHHH 6 5 lrlrkf 2 .11- 4 Q 0 0/8 6 9 J M m 8\ 7 Ill w w m 4\ 7 .2 M 6 H, 5 6 r I 1 \I My 8 7 w M g 7 F John E. Purney, Sr.

Fig.7

INVENTOR.

Q QM m MM Hm United States Patent 3,453,669 BACK PACK BOAT John E. Purney, Sr., 3739 Bellwood Drive, Canton, Ohio 44708 Filed Nov. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 595,206 Int. Cl. B63b 7/04, 29/00 US. Cl. 9-2 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of first and second end aligned and separable sections each including a panel-like bottom wall and panel-like opposite sidewalls with means being provided for releasably securing the sections together with adjacent marginal areas of the sections in edge abutting and overlapped relation against relative separation and an elongated seat structure extending between and bridging the connection between corresponding marginal areas of the sidewalls of the sections removably secured to each of the marginal areas of the sidewalls in a manner preventing lateral shifting of the sidewalls at the points of connection of the seat structure thereto longitudinally of the seat structure.

This invention relates to a novel and useful back pack boat and more specifically to a sectional boat including three separable pieces, a bow section, a stern section and a center section, which are removably secured together and which, when separated, may be internested in a manner forming a compact package of the three sections of the boat which may be readily supported from the back of a person in the manner in which a pack is carried by a camper.

The three sections of the boat include opposite sidewalls interconnected at their lower ends by means of a bottom wall and the adjacent end edges of the three sections may be removably secured together in fluid-tight engagement with each other. Further, the adjacent end edges of the sections include reinforcing means in the form of reinforcing members extending therealong and accordingly, the joint between each pair of adjacent sections is doubly reinforced by means of the two reinforcing members adjacent the joint.

The back pack boat of the instant invention further includes removable and somewhat foldable transverse seats that may be readily inserted into and secured within the boat after the three sections thereof have been secured together with the transversely extending seat members forming transverse braces between the sidewalls of the boat bracing the side walls against both inward and outward movement relative to each other. Further, the two transverse seat members provided are securable between the side walls of the boat when the three sections thereof are secured together in transverse alignment with the joints between adjacent sections of the boat and therefore the transverse seat members also serve to reinforce the joints between each pair of adjacent sections of the boat.

The main object of this invention is to provide a back pack boat including a plurality of boat sections each provided with opposite side walls and a bottom wall and which may be secured together in end aligned relation to form a complete boat hull.

Patented July 8, 1969 boat in accordance with the preceding objects including.

novel means whereby a fluid-tight seal between the end edges of adjacent sections of the boat may be automatically formed when the adjacent sections are secured together.

A furtherobject of this invention is to provide a novel joint between separable boat sections which is doubly reinforced.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a boat in accordance with the preceding objects and including removable transversely extending seat members.

A further object of this invention is to provide a boat in accordance with the immediately preceding object and whose transverse seat members are operable to form transverse braces between the opposite sidewalls of the boat for preventing both inward and outward movement of the side walls of the boat relative to each other.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a back pack boat in accordance with the preceding objects which. will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to assemble so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the boat of the instant invention in assembled condition;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the assemblage illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the assemblage illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the boat taken substantially upon a plane designated by the section line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary longtudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 6-6 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 6 but with the corresponding sections of the boat in a longitudinally spaced relation relative to each other;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the boat illustrating the manner in which one of the removable transverse seat members is secured therein;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of one of the mounting brackets for one of the transverse seat members;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of two adjacent end edge portions of a pair of separable sections of the boat illustrating the manner in which the sections may be secured together and are provided with means for anchoring the center of one of the transverse seat members thereto;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 1111 of FIGURE and FIGURE 12 is a side elevational view of the boat in a disassembled condition with the various sections thereof nested and secured together to form a back pack, the pack being carried on the back of a person.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral generally designates the back pack boat of the instant invention. The boat 10 includes a bow section generally referred to by the reference numeral 12, a stern section generally referred to by the reference numeral 14 and a center section generally referred to by the reference numeral 16. The bow section includes a pair of upstanding opposite sidewalls 18 and 20 curving together at their forward ends to form the bow end 22 of the boat 10 and interconnected at their lower ends by means of a bottom wall 24. The stern section includes a pair of opposite side walls 26 and 28 which are interconnected at their lower ends by means of an integral bottom wall 30 and at their rear ends by means of a rear wall or transom 32. The transom 32 has a suitable reinforcing panel 34 secured thereto on its outer surface in any convenient manner so as to adapt the transom 32 to support an outboard motor and an inner reinforcing panel 36 is secured to the inner surface of the transom 32 and braced to the bottom wall 30 by means of a knee 38. In addition, the center section 16 includes a pair of opposite sidewalls 40 and 42 interconnected at their lower ends by means of an integral bottom wall 44 and each of the upper edge portions of the walls 18, 20, 26, 32, 40 and 42 has a channel-shaped trim member designated by a corresponding prime numeral secured thereto in any convenient manner.

The bow section 12 has three longitudinal stiffening stringers 46, 48 and 50 secured to the bottom wall 24 thereof and the sections 14 and 16 include similar stringers 52 and 54.

The rear end edge portions of the front and center sections 12 and 16 are similarly formed and the forward end edge portions of the center and rear or stern sections 16 and 14 are similarly formed. Accordingly, only one set of opposing rear and forward edge portions of the sections 12, 14 and 16 will be specifically described herein. The rear edge portions of the center section 16 have a stiff but somewhat flexible elongated strip of stainless steel 58 overlying the inner surface portions thereof. The strip 58 extends along and over the inner surface portions of the rear marginal edge portions of the side walls 40 and 42 as well as the bottom wall 44 and the rear edge of the strip 58 is coplanar with the rear edges of the side walls 40' and 42 and the bottom wall 44.

Disposed over the inner surface portions of the strip 58 is a preformed rigid bar 60 and the bar 60 extends along the full length of the strip 58 and is spaced slightly forwardly of the rear end of the strip 58. In addition, a second strip 62 which may also be constructed of stainless steel overlies the bar 60- and projects slightly rearwardly of the latter but terminates along its rear edge portion slightly forwardly of the rear edge portion of the strip 50. Accordingly, a generally U-shaped and rearwardly opening channel 64 is defined between the strips 58 and 62. A resilient and deformable sealing strip 66 of any suitable material such as neoprene is disposed within the channel 64 and abuts against the bottom of the channel which is defined by the rear face of the bar 60. Further, as can be more clearly seen from FIGURES 5 and 6 of the drawings, a plurality of suitable fasteners such as rivets 68 are spaced longitudinally along the strips 58 and 62 and the bar 60 and secure the strips 58 and 62 as well as the bar 60 to the side walls 40 and 42 and the bottom wall 44.

The forward marginal edge portions of the side walls 26 and 28 and the bottom wall 30 have a strip 70 disposed thereover similar to the strip 58 and a reinforcing ba 72 sim a to the rei f rci g ba 60 is d p ove 4- the strip 70. Suitable fasteners such as rivets 74 are utilized to secure the strip 70 and the bar 72 to the forward marginal edge portions of the side walls 26 and 28 and the bottom wall 30.

The forward edge portion of the strip 70 is coplanar with the forward edge of the sidewalls 26 and 28 and the bottom wall 30 and the bar 72 projects forwardly of the forward edge of the strip 70 an amount sufficient to appreciably compress the strip 66 in the channel 64 when the strips 58 and 70 are but slightly spaced apart. Further, the strip 62 has a plurality of a'butments 76 secured thereto at points spaced longitudinally therealong and the bar 72 has a plurality of latching assemblies 78 secured thereto at corresponding points spaced longitudinally therealong and which are releasably lockingly engageable with the abutments 76 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6 of the drawings, the latching assemblies 78 being operable to engage the a butments 76 and to draw the latter toward the latching assemblies 78. Accordingly, it may be seen where a water-tight and extremely well reinforced joint is formed between each pair of adjacent sections 12 and 16 and 14 and 16.

With attention now invited more specifically to FIG- URES 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings it may be seen that each of the strips 62 has an L-shaped mounting bracket 80 fixedly secured thereto in any convenient manner such as by welding 84 at a point spaced slightly to one side of the longitudinal centerline of the boat 10 and that each of the bars 72 has a similar L-shaped mounting bracket 86 secured thereto in any convenient manner such as by welding 88 at a point spaced slightly toward the other side of the longitudinal centerline of the boat. The mounting brackets 82 and 86 include upstanding flanges 82 and 86' suitably apertured as at 82" and 86", respectively, and the apertures 82" and 86 are registrable with each other when the sections 12, 14 and 16 are secured together in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 6 of the drawings.

A pair of transverse seat assemblies 90 is provided and each seat assembly includes a horizontal panel 92 to which a depending leg 94 is pivotally secured by means of a hinge assembly 96. Each of the depending legs 94 is of course pivotable toward a position generally paralleling and underlying the corresponding horizontal panel 92. Further, the lower end portion of each of the depending legs 94 is slidingly receivable between the corresponding apertured flanges 82 and 86' and is suitably apertured so as to receive therethrough a fastener 98 secured through the corresponding apertures 82' and 86.

The confronting end edge portions of the opposite sidewalls of each pair of adjacent sections 12 and 16 and 14 and 16 have a pair of coacting mounting brackets 100 and 102 secured thereto adjacent the upper marginal edge portions of these sidewalls. The mounting brackets 100 and 102 of each pair of mounting brackets are substantially identical except that they are right and left handed and each includes an L-shaped body notched as at 104 and provided with a spacing bar 106. The mounting brackets are secured to the corresponding sidewalls by means of suitable fasteners such as rivets 108 secured through the corresponding sidewall, the spacing bar 106 and the bracket. The notched portions 104 provide clearance for the corresponding bars 60 and 72 and the strip 62 secured to each bar 60. Further, the opposite ends of each horizontal panel 92 have a pair of generally L-shaped brackets 108 secured thereto in any convenient manner such as by fasteners 110. Each of the brackets 108 includes a depending flange 112 which is slidingly receivable in the corresponding channel 114 defined by the corresponding pair of mounting brackets 100, see FIGURE 11. Further, each of the sidewalls has an upper L-shaped mounting bracket 116 secured thereto in any convenient manner by means of fasteners 118 secured through the bracket 11 6 and the corresponding reinforcing bar as well as fasteners 120 secured through the corresponding sidewall and a corresponding spacing block 122 as well as the mounting bracket 116.

Accordingly, from a comparison of FIGURES 8-11, it may be seen that the seat assemblies 90 may be installed after the sections 12, 14 and 16 have been secured together by longitudinally shifting the horizontal panels 92 into interlocked engagement with the channels 114 and the mounting brackets 116.'Thereafter, the fastener 98 of each seat assembly 90 may be secured through the corresponding flanges 82' and 86 as well as the lower end of the associated depending leg 94. Thus, the seat assemblies 90 rigidly interconnect each pair of corresponding opposite sidewalls on opposite sides of the joint formed between the associated hull sections and prevent the four sidewall portions interconnected thereby from being laterally deflected either inwardly or outwardly relative to each other. Further, the depending legs 94 additionally brace the sidewalls and bottom walls of the boat 10.

With attention now invited more specifically to FIG- URE 12 of the drawings it may be seen that the sections 12, 14 and 16 may be readily nested and secured together by means of suitable straps 126 and 128 secured to a back pack frame generally referred to by the reference numeral 130 and provided with suitable shoulder straps 132 by which the pack defined by the internested sections 12, 14 and 16 and the back pack frame 130 may be supported on the back of a person 134. After the sections 12, 14 and 16 have been nested, the seat assemblies 90 may be longitudinally inserted into the pack defined by the nested sections 12, 14 and 16.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A collapsible boat including a pair of first and second end edge aligned and abutted separable sections each including a bottom wall and opposite sidewalls, said walls being constructed of sheet material, the marginal end edge portions of the walls of one of said sections including a first reinforcing member secured to the inner surfaces thereof and extending therealong, the marginal end edge portions of the walls of the other of said sections including a second reinforcing member secured to the inner surfaces thereof and extending therealong, means connected between said reinforcing members releasably securing said sections together against relative separation longitudinally of said boat and with corresponding walls of said sections having closely opposing end edges and corresponding portions of said reinforcing members including closely opposing edge portions, resilient and compressible seal means disposed and compressed between said closely opposing edge portions of said reinforcing members, and an elongated rigid seat structure extending transversely of said boat and between the opposite sidewalls of said sections about the bottom walls thereof, each end of said seat structure bridging the connection between the corresponding sidewalls of said sections, the opposite side portions of each end of said seat structure and the opposing portions of the corresponding sidewalls of said sections including coacting portions removably interlockingly engaged with each other anchoring said corresponding sidewalls against lateral shifting relative to said seat structure and thus against lateral shifting transversely of said boat toward and away from each other.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said end edge portions of said sections include thin metallic strips secured to the inner surfaces thereof over which said reinforcing members are secured.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said thin metallic strips include edge portions substantially flush with the marginal end edge portions of the walls of said sections.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said second reinforcing member includes means cooperating with the corresponding wall end edge portions to form a channel inwardly thereof, extending therealong and opening outwardly of said corresponding end edge portions in which the opposing portions of said first reinforcing member are snugly received, said means cooperating with the portions of the walls of said other section including a thin metallic strip secured to the inner surface of said second reinforcing member and projecting outwardly of said second reinforcing member toward and partially overlapping said first reinforcing member.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the free marginal edge portion of said thin metallic strip terminates inwardly of the marginal end edge portions of the walls of said other section.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said end edge portions of said sections include thin metallic strips secured to the inner surfaces thereof over which said reinforcing members are secured.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the last mentioned thin metallic strips include edge portions substantially flush with the marginal and edge portions of the walls of said sections.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein the sidewalls of said sections are sufiiciently upwardly divergent to enable said sections to be readily vertically nested together when said boat is disassembled in a manner with all but a small portion of one section disposed within the confines of the other section.

'9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said boat includes a third section including opposite side and bottom walls and disposed on the end of said second section remote from said first section, said marginal end edge portions of said first and second sections comprising first and second edge portions, respectively, the confronting end edge portions of said second and third sections comprising substantial duplicates of said first and second edge portions and also being removably secured together, and a second seat structure extending and removably interlockingly secured between the sidewalls of said second and third sections.

10. The combination of claim 1 wherein said seat structure includes a depending leg intermediate its opposite ends whose lower end is supported from the bottom of said boat defined by said bottom walls.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said leg is removably secured to both of said bottom walls.

12. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elongated seat structure includes a depending leg intermediate its opposite ends whose lower end is secured to the bottom walls of said first and second sections.

13. The combination of claim 1 wherein said coacting portions of said seat structure and said sidewalls include structure slidingly engageable with each other upon 1ongitudinal shifting of said sections relative to said seat structure.

14. A collapsible boat including a pair of first and second end aligned separable sections each including a panellike bottom wall and panel-like opposite sidewalls, corresponding walls of said sections including opposing marginal areas, means connected between corresponding marginal areas of said bottom and sidewalls of said boat releasably securing said sections together against relative separation longitudinally of said boat and with first portions of corresponding marginal areas of said sidewalls abutted against each other and second portions of said corresponding marginal areas overlapping each other, an elongated rigid seat structure extending transversely of said boat and between the opposite sidewalls of said sections about the bottom walls thereof, each end of said seat structure bridging the connection between the corresponding sidewalls of said sections, the opposite side portions of each end of said seat structure and the opposing portions of the corresponding sidewalls of said sections including coacting portions removably interlockingly engaged with each other anchoring said corresponding sidewalls against lateral shifting relative to said seat structure and thus against lateral shifting transversely of said boat toward and away from each other.

15. The combination of claim 14 including a depending leg carried by said elongated seat structure intermediate its opposite ends and whose lower end is secured 2,250,127 7/1941 Harman 92 to the bottom walls of said first and second sections. 2,322,160 6/1943 Schlagel 96 16. The combination of claim 14 wherein said coact- 3,266,067 8/1966 Windle 92 ing portions of said seat structure and said sidewalls in- 3,328,811 7/1967 Norton 97 elude structure slidingly engageable with each other upon 828,072 8/ 1906 Tenneson 92 longitudinal shifting of said sections relative to said seat structure. MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

References Clted RICHARD A. DORNON, Assistant Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,549,153 =8/1925 Scheff 9 2 10 2,040,373 5/1936 Green 9 2 

